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Finding a Lost Pet

More pets are lost on the Fourth of July than any other time of year. It’s a heartbreaking scenario for pet parents, but swift action and major networking can increase the odds that you will be reunited with your cat or dog.

We recently surveyed more than 1,000 households with pets across the country to find out if they had lost a dog or cat in the past five years—and if they did, did they find that pet and where did they look?

Of those pet guardians surveyed, 15 percent had lost a dog or a cat in the past five years, and 85 percent of those lost dogs and cats were recovered.

The study's findings suggest the following are key when recovering a lost pet:

Searching immediately when one knows the pet is lost;

Searching within the neighborhood first through visual searches as well as posters and online; and

Checking local shelters from the first day your pet is lost.

If your pet is lost, it’s important not to panic. Enlist the help of all of your friends and neighbors and hit the streets! Read our extended article on Finding a Lost Pet for more information and helpful hints.

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A few days back there was a discussion here about stolen pets (dogs) from cars and yards. Clearly microchips are a great idea, but I think tattoos would be even better. I took my cats with me to France where I had to stay for a year or so and where tattoos (and number registration are mandatory). So my Siamese got their tattoos: done under general anesthesia inside the ear. No pain and highly visible. No need to scan, impossible to remove, and easier to inflict a criminal penalty (IMO) for keeping-buying-selling a pet that is lost, or for a laboratory to accept any animal.